5 chains possibly headed for bankruptcy in 2018

U.S. retailers closed an estimated 9,000 store locations in 2017. If you thought that was bad, Cushman & Wakefield predicts that another 12,000 locations may cease operations in 2018. Here's five chains you may have heard of that could be headed towards bankruptcy or massive store closures in 2018.

Sears

A Sears store in Mexico City

With both the Sears and Kmart chains hemorrhaging money, store closures have become a dominant theme for struggling retail giant Sears Holdings.In fact, liquidation sales will begin as early as January 12th on the most recent round of closures involving 64 Kmart and 39 Sears stores locations. Despite having already closed more than a quarter of its stores in the span of a year, it may be a little to late. According to the Motley Fool more store closures won't save Sears Holdings from bankruptcy. While closing stores help cut costs, it doesn't address the company's real problem, which is that customers are abandoning it. If Motley's prediction holds true, expect another round of struggling Sears anchored malls to go belly up.

The Bon-Ton

The Bon-Ton's location at Allentown, Pennsylvania's South Mall. Courtesy of Shuvaev at wikipedia

Founded in 1898, The Bon-Ton is a department store chain headquartered in York, Pennsylvania and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. With 267 stores, Businessinsider reports that its existence could be on the ropes following another terrible quarterly earnings report in late 2017. Through the first nine months of the 2017 fiscal year, The Bon-Ton posted a comp sales decline of more than 7%, while its gross margin had fallen to 35.8% from 37% a year earlier. If The Bon-Ton bites the dust, it could create opportunity for larger rivals such as Macy's and JCPenney.

Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Davis is a certified senior planner and graduate of Florida A&M University. He is the author of the award winning books “Reclaiming Jacksonville,” “Cohen Brothers: The Big Store” and “Images of Modern America: Jacksonville.” Davis has served with various organizations committed to improving urban communities, including the American Planning Association and the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. A 2013 Next City Vanguard, Davis is the co-founder of Metro Jacksonville.com and ModernCities.com — two websites dedicated to promoting fiscally sustainable communities — and Transform Jax, a tactical urbanist group. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com